


A Meeting of Thieves

by Catterly



Category: Inkheart (2008), Thief Lord (2006), Tintenwelt-Trilogie | Inkheart Trilogy - Cornelia Funke
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-26 17:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catterly/pseuds/Catterly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been ten years since Scipio rode the Merry-Go-Round of the Merciful Sisters.  The detective agency receives a call concerning a book thief.  The former Thief Lord senses something special about this particular criminal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Meeting of Thieves

Part I:  Merry-Go-Rounds and Books

 

“Only one week left,” Victor Getz said as he bustled into the office, looking a little like an underfed walrus with the rain pouring off his elbows like flippers and a fake moustache that added to the illusion.  “One more week and I can retire this entire god-awful merry-go-round.”

Scipio Fortunato grinned at his detective partner, though winced at the word “merry-go-round”.  It had been ten years since his magical ride forwards in age.  He would be celebrating his thirtieth birthday not too long after Victor’s retirement celebration.  The first few years had been fine, just a little awkward as his adult body made peace with his child’s mind.  He had always thought he was so grown-up when he was a child, but he had been wrong. 

He would never admit that, of course.  Just like he would never admit that, sometimes, he wished he had never sat on that elegantly carved seahorse figure and rode the Merry-Go-Round of the Merciful Sisters.

“My word, lad, has the paperwork dulled your tongue today?”

Victor’s question pulled Scipio from his thoughts.  “Hmm?  Paperwork?  I was leaving that for our new little receptionist.”

“I am _not_ your _receptionist_ , Signor Fortunato,” a disgruntled yet elegant voice came from behind the large figure of Victor Getz.  “I am here to train on _all_ aspects of the job.”

Scipio hadn’t even seen Hornet, or Caterina Spavento as she was called now, come in.  He blamed the walrus’s flapping for all that.  “Hornet!” he cried with a grin, standing quickly as Victor got out of the way with a small smirk on his face.  Coming around from behind the desk, Scipio pulled her into a tight hug. 

It wasn’t until he let go that he realized how truly grown-up she had become as well.  What was she now?  Twenty-one?  Twenty-two?  Looking at her face it didn’t really matter.  She may have gotten more beautiful as she grew, she may have been wearing makeup to work professional circles, and her hair may have been cut shorter instead of its previous long braid, but she still had Hornet’s disapproving scowl with worlds of gentle concern in her eyes.

Victor cleared his throat, shaking the water from his coat all over the floor before putting it on an over-crowded coat rack.  “I do wish I had more than a week to train with you, Caterina.  While Scipio here does know his job backwards and forwards and directions I haven’t even thought of, he is too full of himself most of the time to be a decent teacher.”

Hornet gave Victor a knowing smile. “It’s not as if I don’t know where you live if I have questions, or if Signor Fortunato here needs to be taken down a peg.”

This much was true.  Victor had married Ida Spavento within two years of their adventure with the Merry-Go-Round of the Merciful Sisters.  Victor was very much Hornet’s father now, though he hadn’t seen her in nearly six months while she was finishing up her schooling.

Scipio opened his mouth to speak when the phone rang.  He grinned and looked at Hornet.  “You might as well.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but picked up the phone anyway.  “Getz & Fortunato Detective Service.”  There was a moment’s hesitation, then suddenly the woman on the other line was yelling so loud her voice could be heard throughout the room.  “Er, I see.  Uh, yes, I will give him the message.”  Hornet quickly hung up the phone and glared at Scipio.  “That was for you.  Susanna says… well, she said a lot of things, but the summary is she’s tired of you standing her up and she’s breaking up with you.”

Scipio fidgeted with his earlobe but otherwise didn’t really react.  “I told her I don’t have much time.  But whatever, it’s no big loss.  It wasn’t working anyway.”

“My word, boy, that’s the third girl this month,” Victor muttered.

Scipio shrugged and went back to the desk, trying his best to ignore the look Hornet was giving him.  “You may as well start saying ‘Scipio Fortunato’s office, private detective’ when answering the phone.”

Victor and Hornet exchanged a look, but didn’t have time to reply to this because the phone rang once again.  Scipio gestured at Hornet to pick up the phone as if he expected her to try out the new line.  She reached for the phone.

“Fortunato & Spavento, private detective agency, how may we be of service?”  Scipio looked appalled and tried to grab the phone out of Hornet’s hand, but she evaded it gracefully while Victor laughed behind her.  “Mmhm.  Mmhm.  Yes, that is something we could look into.  May we meet you this afternoon at your shop?”  She scribbled some information down on a legal pad.  “Wonderful.  Thank you, Signore.  We will be there at 2:00 pm.”  She was about to hang up when the client continued talking.  “A bluejay feather?  That does seem strange.  We’ll bring some research on that with us.  In the meantime please do not disturb anything in the area to preserve evidence.  Thank you, Signore.”  She hung up.

“Hornet,” Scipio began, annoyance clear in his voice, “I know in the old days it was quite _normal_ for you to disrespect my wishes, and that was all well and good because I wasn’t _actually_ your boss, but this is _different_.  In this case, I am actually your boss.”

“Not yet, you’re not,” Victor said.  “I’ve got a week left in me, and then, well, while you may have a point, you should still treat Caterina with more respect.”  He turned to Hornet who looked rather pleased with herself.  “What’s the job?”

“Signor Piero Galdi, a private book collector, has had some of his prized books stolen.  He is preparing his full list and we are to meet him at 2:00.  Oh, and he said there was a bluejay feather left in one of the rooms the books were stolen from.”

“A book thief?” Victor asked.  “That’s a far cry from our usual camera and wallet thievery, wouldn’t you say, Scipio?  …Scipio?”

Scipio’s dark eyes were distant again.  _A book thief_.  Something about it sparked his memories, his old childhood dreams.  He dealt with thieves of all variety day in and day out, but this – this already seemed different.  This was going to be special.


End file.
